Metallique polished

Cityscape artist Paul Kenton has returned to the art scene with a new collection that demonstrates both a shift in his style and medium of choice. Metallique swaps traditional canvas for modern metal and reveals the latest in Kenton’s artistic evolution.

The artist himself is to make a special appearance at Castle Fine Art, Mailbox on Saturday 22nd April between 12pm and 3pm.

Kenton has become renowned for his striking cityscapes, which are inspired by fast-paced city-living across the world. Indeed, the artist expertly captures the movement in a city, conveying this constant motion with blurred colour and captivating light.

Metallique was born when a canvas didn’t fit onto an easel that Kenton had built, so he reached for leftover sheet aluminium and began applying oil paint to that instead. Delighted with the result and the way the oils took to the metal, he began to refine his brushstrokes and reviewed the tools he was using to discover how this new medium could be adapted to his style of work.

Kenton strives for his paintings to create a mood, evoke a feeling or reflect a myriad of emotions; with free shapes, mixed media, dripped lines and colour. With Metallique he has taken this up a notch by allowing the metal to show through the layers of paint, the overall composition takes on a new dimension which gives a greater sense of depth and life to the scene. Viewed from different angles, the works reflect light sources in the same way one might see sunlight bounce off the cosmopolitan subject matters Kenton favours.

Kenton, who remains one of Castle Fine Art’s top selling artists, nearly a decade after joining the company, said: “My cityscapes reflect the many moods of manmade landscapes; I find it exhilarating to express furious movement, artificial lights and the vibrancy of a busy city centre at night as well as the subtler moods of a misty dawn at the same venue.

“I love to capture the mood and spirit of a scene, adding layers of depth and expression which just can’t be captured in a straight pictorial study. My work is heavily inspired by the different times of the day and the effects these throw across the cities. I am fascinated by natural light and the way it interacts with the buildings.”

Mark Horton, Gallery Manager at Castle Fine Art at Mailbox, added: “Paul captures the essence and personality of the world’s most iconic cities, painting them as you’ve never seen them before. His unique loose style of painting, using drips and bold brush strokes, portrays the hustle and bustle moving around these big cities and can almost transport you there.”

The Metallique collection will be displayed at Castle Fine Art, The Mailbox, for a week after the appearance. Prices start at £595.